pkatt
New Member
Posts: 28
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Post by pkatt on Mar 12, 2009 20:24:27 GMT
How long do debris from crashed satelites stay in orbit? I assume theres lots of junk up there not being used anymore, is anyone responsible for cleaning up their space trash or do we just let it fall back to earth .. whenever..? Hehe.. wheres the space recyclers? Might be nice to address the issue before the space station gets beaned:) Cant they come in from behind the stuff,, match speed and scoop it up?.. sorry I dont know where else to ask this stuff.
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Post by npsguy on Mar 14, 2009 15:15:13 GMT
Here is a link to a recent story at the Wall Street Journal: online.wsj.com/article/SB123672891900989069.htmlThey talk about a number of ideas... one of which is shooting the debris down... with a big water gun. I kid you not. A more 'reasonable' approach is to use low powered lasers to 'nudge' the objects toward Earth so they burn up in the atmosphere. That seems to be a better solution.
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Post by npsguy on Mar 14, 2009 17:18:51 GMT
By the way you may also be interested in this www.tethers.com/TT.htmlThe Terminator Tape and Terminator Tether Satellite Deorbit Systems: Low-Cost, Low-Mass End-of-Mission Disposal for Space Debris Mitigation
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Post by crakar24 on May 12, 2009 6:04:50 GMT
By the way you may also be interested in this www.tethers.com/TT.htmlThe Terminator Tape and Terminator Tether Satellite Deorbit Systems: Low-Cost, Low-Mass End-of-Mission Disposal for Space Debris Mitigation We just fired a rocket which had its own de orbit equipment so to speak, al part of the experiment, worked quite well. Used a series of thruster firings of nitrogen cant see why a satelitte could not be built with this type of system when it is past its use by date
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Post by Bob k6tr on May 23, 2009 22:56:17 GMT
How long do debris from crashed satelites stay in orbit? That depends on how high up it is. Equipment in LEO (Low Earth Orbit), 100 to 200 miles above the earth's surface does last very long without being periodocally reboosted. At 100 miles it is destine for reentry within months to years. At 350 miles above earth, where the Hubble Space Telescope orbits space junk can last for 30 years or more. I assume theres lots of junk up there not being used anymore, is anyone responsible for cleaning up their space trash or do we just let it fall back to earth .. whenever..? Nope. There is a Gentleman's (Lady's) Agreement among nations that all satellites boosted in to Geosynchronus Orbit, which is 22,000 Miles up, will have a propulsion system on board that will eject the satellite out of orbit when it's life has come to an end. Countries agreed to this out of self interest. The Geosynchronus Corridor is only a mile wide at the equator. As such space is limited. Hehe.. wheres the space recyclers? Might be nice to address the issue before the space station gets beaned:) The Space Station is in a fairly low orbit, 200 miles above the surface of earth, so the odds of it getting hit by something is fairly low. Cant they come in from behind the stuff,, match speed and scoop it up? That is easier said than done. The amount of junk up there is massive and the amount of energy necessary to grab one piece is not small. The idea of shooting at it with anything is the worst thing that can be done. The idea is to slow the junk down so it's orbit decays which leads to it burning up upon reentry. If shot at successfully the junk only breaks up into more pieces complicating the problem further because it does nothing to hasten rentry. .. sorry I dont know where else to ask this stuff. no problem ask away
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